This month's Institute for CyberScience seminar will feature a panel of experts on April 11 who will discuss possible positive and negative changes AI — artificial intelligence — may have on healthcare and medicine.
A gene associated with the learning disorder dyslexia may play a role in athletes’ susceptibility to concussions, according to a study by Penn State and Northwestern University. The pilot study included 87 Division I Penn State football players from 2015 to 2017. Researchers aimed to determine whether a genotype in nine candidate genes predicted the number of previously diagnosed concussions in this group of football players.
During a Sept. 30 ceremony held at the residence of Penn State President Eric Barron, Penn State trustee Keith E. Masser and his wife, Helen E. Masser, signed documents to create a professorship in the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences and a scholarship in the Penn State College of Medicine.
Researchers say that a computer-guided algorithm they created may help scientists find just the right spot to split a protein and then reassemble it to functionality. They add this could be another step — perhaps even a dance step — toward using chemical and light signals to create new medical treatments — for instance CAR T-cell therapy — and biosensors.
Andrew Miller of Emory University School of Medicine will present the keynote lecture “Immune System Targets in the Brain in Depression: Impact on Neurotransmitters and Neurocircuits” on April 23 as part of the Third Annual Founders Endowment for Excellence and Innovation Research Day, hosted by the Department of Biobehavioral Health.
Health communicators often struggle with crafting persuasive health communication messages to encourage people to take preventative measures, like using sunscreen to prevent skin cancer, or schedule a flu shot. Researchers suggest that adding hopeful messages — along with fear or threat-based messages — can both raise awareness and encourage action.
A chemical used in plastic packaging may get passed from mother to offspring during pregnancy, affecting the gut bacteria of the young. Researchers suggest this could increase the possibilities of inflammation-related conditions, such as colon cancer and type 2 diabetes, for the offspring later in life.
Colorful fruits and vegetables — like the purple potato — may contain compounds that help fight some types of cancer. An international team of researchers studied the anti-cancer effects of purple potatoes in pigs. This could be another step in finding prevention strategies and cancer treatments for patients.
A protein may be a key part of a complex molecular cascade that can both cause and inhibit tumors in certain types of cancer, including skin and lung cancers. Penn State researchers suggest that understanding the basic biology of cancer can help the future design of anti-cancer therapies that attack cancer, but leave healthy cells alone.
Recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may have causes a dip in influenza vaccination rates, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. The researchers also found that convenience is a key influence behind whether people get vaccines, or not.
Penn State College of Medicine researchers say that learning how and where the innate immune system fights off viral infections that enter through the skin could lead to better treatments for viruses like Zika, dengue and measles, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. The innate immune system is the body’s first line of defense, providing broad protection as opposed to the specific immune system which targets the specific threat.
Because iron deficiency may develop years before anemia is identified, researchers suggest that physicians consider blood testing of female adolescents for iron deficiency.
Men and women react differently to compounds associated with immune system response to bipolar disorder, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. These findings could one day lead to the ability to diagnose bipolar disorder by measuring biological changes in the body and tailoring treatments differently so they are more effective.
Acupuncture does not improve a woman's chance of getting pregnant, according to an international team of researchers. They suggest that acupuncture -- alone or with clomiphene -- does not appear to be effective in treating infertility in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.
Recent research on statins and Parkinson's disease has been a mixed bag. Some studies indicate it can protect against Parkinson's disease, while others suggest it can't. In this study, researchers found that statins may speed up the onset of Parkinson's disease symptoms, according to researchers.
